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Tuesday, 8 May 2012

The Elder Scrolls Online and What that means to us

When rumors first surfaced that everyone's favorite RPG series was establishing it's own foothold on the online space, people were immediately skeptical.

Most doubted this rumor to be true at all.

Why would Bethesda ever stray from their existing IP? For years, they've provided us with engrossing single player content, open landscapes and a unique (and free) progression in their levelling systems,

It just didn't make any sense to most, and to be honest, it was a daunting task to even get your head around the idea of it.

Of course over the years many have speculated at the potential of multiplayer in the Elder Scrolls games and the idea of co-operative multiplayer certainly would have been a welcome addition to the series.

As an example, discussions of transferring your save game to another PC / console and being able to traverse the dungeons with a friend were common when The Elder Scrolls IV : Oblivion came out, and I have seen these discussions pop up again regarding Skyrim as well.

Borderlands springs to mind when it comes to what I would personally want in an Elder Scrolls Multiplayer Game. Borderlands gave us a single player RPG which you were able to play on your own, or with up to 3 friends online. This sort of dynamic in an Elder Scrolls game would have worked well and still allowed for separate characters and abilities.

And yet...as we all know by now...the Elder Scrolls Online is actually real. And it looks like it might follow the generic route of your stereo-typical MMORPG.....but maybe it's to early to jump to conclusions either.

Very little has been revealed regarding the game, and aside from a teaser trailer (below) and one solitary screenshot. (also below) we know little about the actual gameplay:

The Teaser trailer seems very much on similar lines to the Skyrim Teaser Trailer released last year, and this could actually be a good sign. If Bethesda intends to stick with the general feel of their existing franchise when it comes to cutscenes and trailers, then maybe they might do the same for gameplay....wishful thinking?

Maybe...but until we know more we can only hope.

When looking at the screenshot, many have commented on the fact that it looks a little too much like World of Warcraft, and although it does seems the case, without any sort of UI to look at, it's certainly difficult to say for certain.

The angle of the screenshot certainly doesn't promote the idea that the game can be played in First Person either....but many of the original screenshots for Skyrim were also taken at angles similar to this, so it still doesn't really say that much.

Storyline looks to be quite interesting as well, with Molag Bal (one of the daedric princes) as the main villain who seeks to plunge all Tamriel into ruin.

3 different factions are playable (certainly a bit different from the 2 available in World of Warcraft), with 3 of the different races associated with each faction. (9 in total)

Set 1000 years before the events of Skyrim they have a lot of content available, so lets hope it's something spectacular.

Many of us forget that Bethesda is well known for making some spectacular games and while this may be their first journey into the over-populated MMORPG genre...they may still surprise us.

While an Elder Scrolls MMO is certainly something to raise and eyebrow for, it remains to be seen just how much of the previous games brilliance eventually finds its way into the online version.

What do you think? Will it be another MMORPG just like the many that have come before. Perhaps with a few differences her and there.....or will it be something worthwhile that we should trust Bethesda to do right.